new to board, question about sleeping through the night

[diane79]

Hi I am new to the board. I am a first time mom of a 11 week old baby boy. For those of you who are breastfeeding, when did your baby start sleeping through the night? On the most part he gets up about every 3 hours to eat. Occasionally, he will sleep 5-6 hours at a time, but usually he sleeps half of it before I go to bed. He always falls right back to sleep nursing until at least 8am which is wonderful. Just wondering when they start sleeping 6 hours plus consistently?

[sheilabe]

Hi there,

dd also bf (and still at it at 15 months) if I remember right didn't sleep over 6 hrs at a stretch till about 18 wks. FYI the term sleeping through the night is a totally misleading one this is classed as sleeping 5 hrs consecutivly (sp) or more at a stretch.

Good Luck! and enjoy your sweety!

[debating]

She slept through the night for a few weeks around 12-18 weeks, but when she hit some major developmental milestones she started waking more. She does not sleep through the night now. For the most part I don't notice it because we co-sleep, so she latches on while I'm sleeping. Only do I actually wake UP if she sticks her toe nails in my back, or hubby gets mad because she snaps the elastic on his shorts. Otherwise I don't notice it. I don't expect her to sleep through the night until 2-3, and that's fine by me.

[AnnieinPA]

Diane,

My son started sleeping eight hours through the night at around 8 or 9 weeks and now at seven months sleeps about 12 hours through the night. I really think the key is setting a schedule and sticking to it (at least that worked WONDERS for me!). Two naps a day at the same times for the same amount of time and then a pretty consistent bedtime routine. My son goes down for his naps without making a peep since it's just part of his normal day and also goes to bed happily. Sometimes we'll hear him in there laughing to himself but for the most part he goes right down. Good luck! I know it's so hard in the beginning, but your baby will get there and it feels SO GOOD to get some rest!

[Paet]

I remember asking that same question!

My baby started sleeping through the night about 4 months and 1 week (7ish PM to 6:30ish AM).
She is now 5 months. She does occasionally wake up once, but it's not often.

Making a night time routine is crucial, but I'm not sure if it works that early.